Pop quiz: When was the [last time Kyler Murray](https://12thmanrising.com/seattle-seahawks-celebration-becomes-ironic-kyler-murray-terrible-throw) led the Arizona Cardinals to a win over the Seattle Seahawks? I’ll give you a minute. It has been a while.
If you are thinking of that game just before Thanksgiving back in 2021, try again. The Cards did win that one, but it was Colt McCoy, filling in for an injured Murray, who led the way. It was one of the best games of long-time back-up McCoy’s career.
I’m thinking about this today because another long-time, quality backup will be under center for Arizona in Week 10 [when the Cardinals](https://12thmanrising.com/one-glaring-weakness-haunt-seattle-seahawks-cardinals) come to Lumen Field. Murray is once again injured. This time, it will be Jacoby Brissett calling the signals for Jonathan Gannon’s squad.
And though I doubt Mike Macdonald and his staff are shaking in their boots, Brissett does pose a different kind of challenge. Quite possibly, a tougher challenge than Murray would present.
The Seahawks cannot relax simply because Kyler Murray is out this week
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Seattle, whether Macdonald or Pete Carroll has been at the helm, has basically owned Kyler Murray. Murray has a career record of 2-9 as a starter against the Hawks. Now -- are you ready for the answer to the opening question?
Kyler Murray last beat the Seahawks in October of 2020. Since then, he has started – and lost – eight consecutive games against Seattle. The Cardinals have lost nine straight, but Josh Dobbs was subbing at QB in one of those losses.
This is what we in the gambling biz like to refer to as a trend. And any gambler will tell you that believing in the concept of “being due” – as in, well, Murray is due to win one against Seattle because he has lost so many in a row – is the fastest way there is to go broke.
So on one hand, the switch to Brissett almost has to be a positive for Arizona because – really, how could it get any worse? But there’s more to it than that.
Jacoby Brissett is a classic backup. In his ten-year career, he has played on six different teams and has started 56 games for five of them. His record as a starter is nothing special, with one notable exception; his stats are not all that good either. He is workmanlike and competent – nothing more.
However, look at that one area in which he excels, and you will see what the challenge is when playing a Brissett-led team. Jacoby Brissett does not make mistakes. He has attempted more than 1,800 passes in his career and has thrown just 25 interceptions. That works out to a career interception percentage of 1.3 – the best in the history of the NFL. Second place – at 1.4% -- Aaron Rodgers.
Brissett can’t run like Kyler Murray. He won’t avoid sacks as readily, nor will he make those exceptional throws that Murray can unleash. But he will run the offense efficiently, making the proper reads and executing the throws when they are available.
Therefore, to beat a Jacoby Brissett team, the defense has to play well. Seattle should do that. They have a potentially great defense, and they have indeed been playing very well. They simply have to avoid a letdown. With a big-time trip down the coast for a matchup against the Rams coming the following week, avoiding a letdown will be Mike Macdonald’s top priority this week.
The last time Seattle took on Jacoby Brissett, Seattle’s Geno Smith threw for over 300 yards. Both DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught double-digit passes and went for more than 100 yards in the air. They didn’t turn the ball over.
Meanwhile, Brissett, playing for a rebuilding New England Patriots team, did not crack 150 yards in the air and was sacked three times. Sounds like a blowout on paper, right?
The Hawks eked out a 23-20 win in overtime. They needed a field goal in the final minute of regulation to even get to overtime.
If you remember that game from Week 2 of 2024, Seattle certainly looked like the more explosive team. But they struggled to run the ball and to stop the Pats from doing the same. Brissett ran the show. He was efficient when he needed to be.
Seattle is a better team today than it was early last season. The defense has addressed those lapses against the run. The offense is far more balanced. Earlier this year, they again outplayed the Cardinals for much of their Week 4 contest but collapsed late and needed another late field goal to win by the same 23-20 score. That was the eighth straight win over Kyler Murray.
They should win handily this week. But if they turn in a subpar effort, they won’t. Jacoby Brissett may not have the plus-talent to beat very good teams all by himself. But he has more than enough to make those teams pay when they underestimate him.
Just ask the Dallas Cowboys. Brissett helped the Cardinals break a five-game losing streak last week – throwing a couple of touchdowns, and of course, zero interceptions – in a 27-17 win in Dallas. Arizona may be mired in an eight-game losing streak to the Seahawks, but they have a one-game winning streak with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.